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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 304 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 304

 To designate the period beginning on November 1, 2005, and ending on 
           October 31, 2006, as the Year of Polio Education.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 10, 2005

   Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Corzine) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 To designate the period beginning on November 1, 2005, and ending on 
           October 31, 2006, as the Year of Polio Education.

Whereas 2005 is the 50th anniversary of the injectable polio vaccine;
Whereas the polio vaccines eliminated naturally occurring polio cases in the 
        United States but have not yet eliminated polio in other parts of the 
        world;
Whereas as few as 57 percent of American children receive all doses of necessary 
        vaccines during childhood, including the polio vaccine;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that every 
        child in the United States receive all doses of the inactivated polio 
        vaccine;
Whereas the success of the polio vaccines has caused people to forget the 
        1,630,000 Americans born before the development of the vaccines who had 
        polio during the epidemics in the middle of the 20th century;
Whereas at least 70 percent of paralytic polio survivors and 40 percent of 
        nonparalytic polio survivors are developing post-polio sequelae, which 
        are unexpected and often disabling symptoms that occur about 35 years 
        after the poliovirus attack, including overwhelming fatigue, muscle 
        weakness, muscle and joint pain, sleep disorders, heightened sensitivity 
        to anesthesia, cold pain, and difficulty swallowing and breathing;
Whereas 2005 is the 131st anniversary of the diagnosis of the first case of 
        post-polio sequelae and is the 21st anniversary of the creation of the 
        International Post-Polio Task Force;
Whereas research and clinical work by members of the International Post-Polio 
        Task Force have discovered that post-polio sequelae can be treated, and 
        even prevented, if polio survivors are taught to conserve energy and use 
        assistive devices to stop damaging and killing the reduced number of 
        overworked, poliovirus-damaged neurons in the spinal cord and brain that 
        survived the polio attack;
Whereas many medical professionals, and polio survivors, do not know of the 
        existence of post-polio sequelae, or of the available treatments; and
Whereas the mission of the International Post-Polio Task Force includes 
        educating medical professionals and the world's 20,000,000 polio 
        survivors about post-polio sequelae through the international Post-Polio 
        Letter Campaign, The Post-Polio Institute at New Jersey's Englewood 
        Hospital and Medical Center, the publication of The Polio Paradox, and 
        the television public service announcement provided by the National 
        Broadcasting Company: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the need for every child, in America and 
        throughout the world, to be vaccinated against polio;
            (2) recognizes the 1,630,000 Americans who survived polio, 
        their new battle with post-polio sequelae, and the need for 
        education and appropriate medical care;
            (3) requests that every State designate the period 
        beginning on November 1, 2005, and ending on October 31, 2006, 
        as the ``Year of Polio Education'' to promote vaccination and 
        post-polio sequelae education and treatment; and
            (4) requests that all appropriate Federal departments and 
        agencies take immediate action to educate--
                    (A) the people of the United States about the need 
                for polio vaccination; and
                    (B) polio survivors and medical professionals in 
                the United States about the cause and treatment of 
                post-polio sequelae.
                                 <all>
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